Totoro is Studio Ghibli's second animated film. Miyazaki served as the original drawing, screenwriter and director.
From April 1987 to April 1988, Studio Ghibli spent an entire year creating the animation. The film was released in Japan in April 1988, but it was officially introduced to Chinese theaters in December 2018, three decades later. However, fortunately, as early as the early 90s, CCTV introduced the film, so that animation fans in china can get a sneak peek.
In order to let his wife Yasuko Kusabee recuperate in the hospital, Tatsuro Kusabei took his eldest daughter Caobi Gaoyue, who is attending elementary school, and his four-year-old younger daughter Kusaobi Mei to live in the countryside near the hospital.
Although their "new home" is an old house that is old and dilapidated and in disrepair, the two daughters are very excited and always curious to "explore" in this new home and Zhou. They found many interesting things, such as the towering camphor tree in the yard, the fruit of the camphor tree that fell from the roof, and the mysterious little briquette called the "Dust Elf".
One day, her sister Xiaomei was playing alone in the yard. Suddenly, a small white elf appeared in the courtyard, Xiaomei was attracted by it, chased after it, did not expect, but in the camphor tree cave encountered the "totoro" that had been seen in the album. After her sister Xiaoyue came home from school, she woke up Xiaomei, who was sleeping in the grass. After Xiaomei woke up, she couldn't wait to tell her father and sister about this magical experience.
Although in the second exploration, they did not find the cute, furry totoro that Xiaomei said, but they still believed Xiaomei's personal experience.
One evening, when it was raining heavily, the sisters took umbrellas to the bus stop to wait for their father after work, and they once again met Totoro, who was also waiting for the bus. Excited, Xiaoyue lent the umbrella originally given to her father to Totoro and taught it how to use the umbrella. As a token of gratitude, Totoro gave Xiao Yue a bag of camphor tree fruit wrapped in leaves as a gift before taking the bus. When they got home, the sisters planted the fruits in the yard and waited for them to sprout.
One night, while they were asleep, they suddenly heard movement in the yard, and the sisters got up to see the big totoro with two small dragon cats circling around the oak fruit they had planted. They were very curious, so they also got up from the bed and ran out with the totoro. At this time, a miracle happened, and the oak fruit they planted instantly grew into a towering tree. Surprised, the sisters were carried to the sky by the big totoro, and sat on the tree on top of the camphor tree to blow the wind, spending a peaceful and peaceful time.
The next morning, the sisters woke up from their sleep, although they did not see the towering tree in the yard, but the fruit of the camphor tree really sprouted, and the sisters danced happily.
Dad Dalang is not at home at work, such as when the sisters follow the grandmother next door to the field to break corn, Xiaoyue received a telegram from the hospital, thinking that her mother was critically ill. In the panic, Xiaoyue ran to call her father. Xiaomei alone held the corn that was originally going to be given to her mother and found her sister Xiaoyue, but she had an awkward fight with her sister because of her willfulness. Xiao Yue ran away alone, waiting for the relief to come to find her sister, but she couldn't find anything. Xiao Yue was anxious and frustrated, so she ran to the camphor tree to ask for help from totoro.
Totoro called the cat bus, and on the way to the hospital, he found Xiaomei who was lost, and took the sisters to the hospital to visit her mother. After learning that their mother was okay, the sisters were relieved, quietly left their own corn cobs on the windowsill outside their mother's ward, and then went home happily and contentedly on the cat bus.
The end of the 1980s was the worst of Japan's economic bubble, and the opposition between the city and pastoral life became one of the main contradictions. During this period, Miyazaki often recalled the legends he heard in his childhood, so he had Totoro.
Compared to Hayao Miyazaki or Ghibli's other animated films, Totoro is arguably the innocent, innocent childhood fantasy that each of us has ever had. Whether it is from the color of the picture, the melody of the music, or from the setting of the character image and the content of the story, it is in perfect harmony with our childhood fantasies.
Although the film does not clearly state where the Caobi family moved to this fantasy-filled countryside, the audience can roughly guess that they are from the city. In this animated film, we clearly see that its basic narrative structure is based on the duality of "civilization and nature", "city and country", "adult and child" and so on.
Derived from Miyazaki's childhood fantasy, it uses the animation perspective to highlight the opposition of multiple elements.
For example, only children can see "Totoro", while adults can't see it. Interestingly, the appearance of "Totoro", "Little Briquette" and "Cat Bus" all presents a fairytale-like feeling in the structure of "nature, countryside, and children". Rather than saying that "Totoro" tells the fairy tale of Xiaomei's fantasy, it is more about the growth story that Xiaoyue constructs through Xiaomei's fantasy.
As an older sister, Xiao Yue took on the role of "mother" during her mother's illness, not only making breakfast for her family, but also taking care of and protecting her sister, and gradually stepping into the adult world, so it was her sister Xiaomei who first met the totoro in the "Strange World". Then, through Xiaomei's unquestioning narration, Xiaoyue began to believe in the existence of Totoro, and Xiaoyue had the opportunity to meet Totoro.
However, it is worth noting that Xiaoyue first encountered the space scene of Totoro and cat bus. It was in a small dark forest, it was late at night, it was raining heavily, and the street lamp shone softly on the two little girls, emitting a yellowish glow. This unusual situation creates a mysterious color for the appearance of Totoro.
This is also the premise of why Xiaoyue can meet Totoro, only in such a situation can Xiaoyue "see" Totoro.
In Totoro, the tranquil idyllic scenery complements the warmth and mutual assistance between people. In fact, this is also a core theme that Kanzaki has consistently tried to show us in animated films.